


Even Sleep Needs Rest

by SML8180



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Feels, Fluff, Food, How Do I Tag, Insecurity, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Sweetheart, Remy and Patton have one of those., Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Sleep | Remy Sanders is Bad at Self Care, Sweet, Tea, You know those deep conversations you have at 2 AM?, kinda??, other sides are mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29678355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SML8180/pseuds/SML8180
Summary: Remy embodies Thomas' Sleep. He helps Thomas sleep, helps the Sides sleep, allows for good dreams and usually keeps nightmares at bay. For all the good he does for everyone else, though, he doesn't always do good for himself. Patton knows that feeling well, and he and Remy end up having a heart-to-heart at 2:30 in the morning.
Kudos: 13





	Even Sleep Needs Rest

**Author's Note:**

> What's this? Something that ISN'T set in the Chaos is Normal universe???
> 
> I've had writer's block for the oneshot I wanted to put out today, so it's sitting half-finished in my drive right now. This story, however, has been sitting completed in my drive since September of 2020, so I thought I'd finally throw it at you all!

Remy knew he was a bit of a hypocrite. How  _ couldn’t _ he know? He represented Sleep in Thomas’ head, he made sure the Sides went to bed every night, he tried to make sure Thomas got his rest, yet he himself often didn’t get much sleep. There was a reason he always had a coffee with him; some days it was the only thing keeping him on his feet. Being Sleep wasn’t his  _ only _ job in Thomas’ head, after all. He teamed up with Janus to assist in making sure Thomas took care of himself, helped Logan with scheduling, and helped keep Remus in check by acting as that little voice in Thomas’ head that reminded him that whatever he was imagining wasn’t real.

All this didn’t leave Sleep with much time to, well,  _ sleep _ .

He put on a sassy attitude in order to keep suspicion from the other Sides low, had taken to carrying a cup of coffee or some other caffeinated or sugary drink to keep himself awake, went to events that were always going on in the urban section of the Imagination, which was almost always alive, even when Thomas and the others were asleep, just so that he’d be awake if he was needed. This was why he was practically obsessed with his phone, he didn’t want to miss a message or have the device die on him when one of the others was trying to contact him.

For the most part, the other inhabitants of the Mindscape didn’t seem to notice what Remy was doing. On occasion, they’d notice if he was having a slower day, if he was more subdued than usual, and ask if he was doing alright. He’d simply tell them that he’d just been out late. He knew not to give too much information,  _ especially _ around Janus. He would be telling the truth if he simply said he was out late, and the others usually didn’t press further, and Janus wouldn’t call him out for lying, because  _ technically _ , he wasn’t lying.

But, there were times where his story wasn’t bought. Times where Janus wouldn’t say anything, but would raise an eyebrow and give Remy a disapproving frown, times where Logan would insist he didn’t need help and instead tell Remy to take some time to himself, times where Roman insisted he’d keep an eye on his twin so that Remy wouldn’t have to. There were times Janus called him out in private, telling him to go to bed. There were times where Virgil caught him slumped a bit against the wall in the hallway or on the couch.

And there were times like tonight.

Remy was making his way towards the common area, having just spent almost two hours with Remus in order to help him get to sleep, after having spent an hour helping Logan wrap up some scheduling things in order to get the stubborn Logical Side to go to bed, and  _ that _ was after he’d gone to each of the other Sides’ rooms to make sure they were asleep or at least getting ready for bed. Now, it was nearing two thirty in the morning, and Remy was running on fumes. Leading up to this, it had been a  _ long _ week.

The coffee-loving man nearly tripped over his own two feet as he entered the common area. He let himself collapse onto the sofa, letting out a quiet groan as he did. He didn’t even notice Patton in the kitchen, having not even looked in the direction of the space as he’d made his way in.

“Remy? What’re you still doing up, Kiddo?” Patton’s voice startled Remy, resulting in him jumping up to stand and turn towards the fatherly Side.

“Oh, y’know, babe,” Remy shrugged. “Just got a few minutes before I gotta go to a thing in the Imagination,” he told Patton. It was a flimsy story, and he knew it, but he was too tired to give Patton something more concrete.

“I don’t think you should be going into the Imagination if you’re this tired, Remy,” Patton replied, making his way around the kitchen island to stand in front of Remy.

“I’ll be fine, Pops,” Remy told him. He went to step away from the sofa, to make his way down the hall that would take him towards the door to the Imagination, but he hadn’t stepped back far enough, and caught his foot on the edge of the furniture, leading him to stumble.

Patton rushed forward to catch the exhausted man, and turned him so he was sitting on the sofa. “You may be Sleep, but you need rest too, Kiddo,” he sighed.

“It’ll just be a couple hours, Pat,” Remy tried to reason. “I’ll get some rest when I get back.” He tried to wave Patton off him, but his body protested the effort.

“How long has it been since you slept?”

“Gurl, you are  _ not _ doing this.”

“How long?”

“Since last night.” Remy knew it was a lie. He wasn’t even trying to hide the fact it was a lie.

“Remy, I don’t need to wake up Janus to know that was a lie,” Patton told him, sounding a bit disappointed. “Tell me the truth.”

“Three or four days? Maybe five…?” Remy admitted. “But I took some naps in there!” he knew the addition wouldn’t really rectify anything.

“Five  _ days _ ?” Patton sounded concerned. “You know that isn’t healthy, Rem!”

“I have to be up, babe! Who’ll make sure everyone’s asleep? Who’s gonna keep things running while you’re all down for the night? Who’s gonna… Gonna um….” he faltered, losing his train of thought. He really had been up for a long time, huh? He couldn’t even think straight, not that he ever did, anyways, but that was beside the point.

“Kiddo, like I said before, you may be Sleep, but even  _ you _ need to sleep,” Patton told him. “So, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna get you into some PJs, have some tea, and get you to bed.  _ Then _ , you’re going to take tomorrow for  _ yourself _ . No fussing over me, Thomas, or any of the others, no going into the Imagination to do, well, whatever you do in there, you’re going to  _ rest _ .”

Remy looked up to protest, but shut his mouth as soon as he saw Patton’s face. Patton was giving him  _ the Dad Look _ , as he and all the others called it. That stern,  _ I’m not mad, just disappointed _ , look that the Moral Side only used when he really felt he needed to. It was a look that told anyone on the receiving end that Patton wasn’t leaving room for argument. He simply sighed and nodded. He watched as Patton smiled gently, snapping his fingers. Remy was aware of the absence of his usual cup in his hand, and the way the weight of his leather jacket and bag disappeared, and he blinked against the light in the common area as his shades vanished.

Sleep looked down at himself, finding that he was now in his favorite set of pajamas. He was in a soft grey T-shirt with a pattern of white Zzz’s covering it and off-white pajama pants that were covered with a pattern of coffee cups and coffee beans. His black slippers with sleepy faces on them had replaced his shoes and socks. He felt more comfortable right away, and watched as Patton went back into the kitchen. The other Side returned after a bit with two mugs of chamomile tea, and handed one to Remy as he took a seat beside him.

The pair sipped their tea quietly for a time, before Remy spoke up. “Why’re you out here anyway, babe? You were already asleep when I checked in on ya.”

“Oh, I had a strange dream and couldn’t get back to sleep,” Patton replied. “I didn’t want to bother you, so I came to make some tea, instead.”

“You wouldn’t have been bothering me, Pat,” Remy told him.

“It was just a silly dream, Remy. We don’t call on you  _ every _ time we have trouble getting to sleep,” Patton stated. “We know you have your own life outside of us.”

“I do, but, I’m  _ supposed _ to be there for you. I’m  _ Sleep _ , that’s my job. When I’m not helping you all, or Tommy, I go into the Imagination so I’m still up, just in case you need me. I worry that if I go to bed, you guys won’t be able to reach me and I’d be failing at doing the one thing I’m  _ supposed  _ to be doing…”

“Remy… Are you afraid of letting us down?”

Remy felt his shoulders slump at that statement, and his gaze fell, he simply looked at his reflection on the surface of his tea. Patton may seem naive at times, but the man really did know what he was talking about when it came to this sort of thing. His change in posture was all Patton needed.

“Kiddo, you know that we’d  _ never _ be disappointed or upset with you for taking some time to rest, right?” he questioned. “You’re always making sure we’re getting our rest, always there to help when we have nightmares, you do something that I  _ can’t _ and get Remus to sleep soundly and without protest! Remy, you do  _ so much _ for us, taking even a single night to rest yourself would never make us think any less of you.”

Remy hesitated for a second, “I know… I know there’s next to nothing I could do that would disappoint any of you, or let you down… I just…” he sighed, “Sometimes, when I let myself slow down, I feel like I'm disappointing  _ me _ ,” he confessed. “I don’t even know if that makes any sense…”

“I think I understand,” Patton told him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes I feel that way when I don’t know the answer for something Thomas asks me. I’m the Dad, Thomas’ Moral Compass, I feel like I’m  _ supposed _ to know all the answers, and even though I know the others won’t think less of me when I don’t know an answer, sometimes  _ I _ think less of me…”

“Exactly… I feel like I’m not doing my job if I take time for myself, because I’m supposed to be there for you all. I  _ should _ be able to handle things…”

“It’s not a healthy outlook, but it’s one we can change.”

Remy gave a sleepy chuckle, “You’re sounding a little like Emile,” he stated, before taking another sip of his tea.

“This is something we talk about a lot together. Have you talked to him about this?” Patton started to rub Remy’s back, and Remy couldn’t help but relax a bit under the touch.

“No… We’re too close, I don’t want that to affect anything he might tell me…”

“Maybe you should talk to Janus about it, then. He’s helping me sort of, come to terms with the fact that I don’t  _ need _ to know  _ all _ the answers. Maybe he could help you, too.”

“Yeah, maybe…” Remy yawned. He felt Patton lightly pat his back, and watched as the other Side took his now empty mug. He heard the sink run for a second, as Patton rinsed out their mugs and set them in the sink to be washed later.

“C’mon, Kiddo, let’s get you to bed,” Patton quietly urged. He helped Remy stand, and let the other man lean on him a bit as they walked to Remy’s room.

The room Remy occupied was across from Emile’s, and next to the room Dice -the Critic Thomas played in some videos, who at this point served as Thomas’ inner critic- occupied. Remy’s room was painted with a warm brown that was similar to coffee with a bit of milk in it; it wasn’t too dark, but it wasn’t beige. The frame of Remy’s door, the frame and door for his closet, and much of his furniture, was white, though the door that served as the entrance to the room was painted with black chalkboard paint, allowing Remy to write on the surface. There were a handful of coffee and sleep-themed decals on the walls, strings of lights hooked up all around the space, and his bedding consisted of an off-white blanket covered in a pattern of dark pink Zzz’s, and sheets that were a pleasant green, he had several soft pillows with various fun pillowcases on them, and a plush travel coffee cup with a smiling face on it.

Patton helped Remy to bed, taking note that the man’s phone was on the charger, and his jacket was on the back of his desk chair, while his bag was on the seat of the chair. The fatherly Side had Remy lay down, and tucked him into bed, smiling as he hugged the plush coffee cup. After planting a soft kiss on Remy’s forehead, Patton left the room, flicking off the main lights and leaving the strings on, letting them fill the room with a soft glow as Remy slept.

* * *

When Remy woke up, he stretched, feeling his back pop. He looked around, confused for a moment as to how he’d ended up in bed like this until he remembered last night. He picked up his phone from the wireless charger, and saw that the time was nearing noon. He remembered what Patton had told him, that he was going to take today and rest, so he put his phone down and got out of bed. He took a shower, taking his time in doing so, simply letting the water relax him. After drying off, Remy pulled on a set of jeans and a white T-shirt. He didn’t bother putting on his jacket or glasses, he simply put his slippers back on and made his way out towards the common area.

He found Patton, Janus, Virgil, and Logan in the common area, and couldn’t help but feel a bit odd. By this point, it was almost one in the afternoon, and Remy was normally getting some work done with Logan.

“Hey, Kiddo!” Patton cheerfully greeted him. “Sleep well?”

Remy couldn’t help but chuckle, “Yeah, babe,” he confirmed.

“There are some muffins from this morning left in the kitchen, Remy,” Logan piped up. “And Patton informed me of your desire to take a day to rest. You have no need to worry about anything, our scheduling work was completed last night.” With that, the Logical Side got up and made his way out of the common area, heading towards the Mindscape Library.

Remy smiled a little to himself, and went into the kitchen, grabbing one of the muffins that sat on a tray on the counter. He hummed as he started to eat the muffin and made himself a cup of coffee.

He spent the day resting, just as Patton had told him to. He watched some TV with Virgil, ended up taking a couple of naps, and joined the other Sides for some board games after dinner. It was just a quiet day, and Remy didn’t argue when the others suggested they all turn in for the night. He went to bed around the same time as the rest of them, and let himself fall asleep, knowing that Patton had been right. Despite  _ being _ Sleep, Remy really did need rest, just like all the others, and saw that they were willing to accept that.


End file.
